"Autumn Leaves" Vocal Play-A-Long Track
Practice accompanying Lyndol on the tune "Autumn Leaves".
"Autumn Leaves" follows an AABC form and the chord changes consist mostly of 251s making it an easy tune to memorise and internalise.
English Lyrics, Solo Section, & French Lyrics
The backing track repeats 3 times through the form. Lyndol starts with the English lyrics, then you have the opportunity to solo over the whole form. Finally, Lyndol sings the final time through with the French lyrics.
Filling In The Space
Identify the places in the form where the melody breaks or rests. As the accompanist, it’s our role to fill in this space with harmonic and melodic fills including:
- the basic harmonic cadences such as 51s & 251s
- chord inversions and arpeggios
- scale runs
- blues scale material
Remember that you can utilise all of the registers of the piano. The fills and harmonic support should complement the singer and not conflict with, or overpower the vocals.
Related Lessons
When jamming with other musicians, you will be required to perform different roles from playing solo piano. Most of your time will be spent “comping”.
In this lesson we will combine quartals and upper structures to create some quartal upper structure voicings that are well suited to a comping setting.
First we discuss how the melody is phrased when playing with a medium swing. We also look at the placement and syncopation of the chords.
Practice Tips
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If you are listening intently and can hear the singer clearly, then you’ll keep from overpowering their voice in both volume and complexity.
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Stay away from chording too much in the lower registers of the piano. This can overpower the voice not only in volume but also the complexity of sound waves.
- Outline your breaks in melody, the places where you'll get to play around with licks, colours, extension and rhythm.
